Europe 3 week journey: Handling strain ?

Hey, you are young people in your 30s! I am decades older and never worry about such a thing. If you get weary, take a day or two to relax and do nothing. If fatigue is a serious concern, shorten your itinerary to maybe two weeks. But honestly, if you are healthy people in your thirties with a genuine enthusiasm for travel, and if you have prepared yourselves for the differences in culture and languages, you will be fine.

Fatigue??? Unless you're competing in some event like the Tour de France I don't think fatigue should be a worry. Kind of an odd question. Why do you "think" you might be fatigued?

On our last trip we were in Europe for 17 days, and we did get pretty tired by the end. That was our longest trip to date. Part of the problem is that we like to pack in as much sightseeing as possible, and aren't very good at pacing ourselves. Rick Steves always says to assume you will return, but we always try to see everything we can just in case we don't. If you keep that kind of pace up for that long, by the end you may not enjoy anything. We had two cities where we were just kind of burned out, so we gave ourselves permission to just relax. In Munich we got a picnic to have in our hotel room and turned in early. In Vienna after our morning walking tour, we wandered leisurely through gardens and sat in cafes for coffees and meals. There are a lot of wonderful things in Vienna that we will have to go back to see, but we very much enjoyed our relaxing day and really needed it by then. So go, but give yourself permission to skip some things you were hoping to do, and pace yourself

Key is not trying to cram in too much. On our 2nd trip to Europe in 2010, hubby wanted to do so much (because we 'may never get back' - uh, yeah - we've gone back three times since then and are def going back again and again) and things were a blur. I think we had 20-21 nights in Europe, and we had 12 different moves (6 countries) - so many one night stays. Now, we like to spend a little longer in places. Don't try to visit 4-5 museums or sights in a day. Try to plan things so you see what is nearby instead of wandering all over the city to different sights. Linger.

We returned to Paris this year for the third time (we've had 3 3-night stays) and I didn't have a huge list of things to do - mind you, we've already seen a lot of it the last two trips - we'd get up, say...'what do you want to do today' and just wander around, maybe go back to the room to relax for an hour and recharge in the afternoon if we were close by.

After a few hectic trips, I really look forward to staying longer in a spot and not over planning. There is nothing fun about being tired and cranky (just ask my hubby) - it's hard to enjoy the beauty around you when you are rushing to the next sight. Def DON'T cut down your number of days if you don't have to. For me, the biggest expense is the flights, so I like to spend as much time as I can.

If you post your itinerary on here, people are super helpful about telling you the best way to tackle your trip and what you may want to take out or something you could add in. Right now, you seem to be jumping all over the map a little. Norway may be an outlier and may not make much sense to travel there if you are only spending a few nights there, but if you plan to spend 5 nights there in one spot, it makes a little more sense....

I have always been very good at pacing myself so perhaps this does not apply to you. I also get as much pleasure from wandering around, sitting in a cafe, answering emails, drinking a vino bianco, watching the people walk by, and smelling the roses. Hence, I rarely get that exhaustion, or fatigue that you are worried about. I do go out in the morning, see some sites, take a break, wander some more, go back to my room late after noon and nap, or rest, then go out for an aperitif, some more walking, then dinner.

For me the key is not to jam too much in and to smell the jasmine, it is wonderful.

Right now, my itinery stands like this -
Paris - 6 nights
Swiss - Lauterbrunnen(BO) - 4 nights
Swiss - Lucerne - 2 nights
Amsterdam - 2 nights
Norway in nutshell - 3 nights

This adds up to 17 nights. I am thinking of adding one more destination if possible, totally making 20-22 days including transit time between cities.
Yeah - Norway looks out of circuit, but we really want to see the beautiful fjords in Oslo-Bergen.

Paris and Swiss are our long time dream places.
Rome/Venice were not included to avoid crowd and heat. So I added Amsterdam as canal city replacement for Venice.
Please comment/review my itinerary. Which other place can be added if I have to ?

Two major destinations of Europe - London and Italy are missing. Hopefully we will return.

You're worried about journey fatigue, and you think to overcome that by putting in some very short stays, such as two nights (not days, but nights!) in Amsterdam? That is day 1 getting to an airport, checking in, security checks, one hour flying, waiting at luggage belt, queue at the immigration office, finding the transport to the city, possibly taking the train so you've got the next hurdle of finding transport to the hotel, checking in, doing two or three things that afternoon. Day 2 is cramming in as much as possible. Day 3 is rising early, having a hurried breakfast, checking out, finding you way back to the airport, checking in, security checks, two hours flying, and than the whole routine again at the next destination. Somehow it doesn't make sense to me.

Okay, Amsterdam is great but it is not Venezia, canals notwithstanding. Just had to get that off my chest.

I travel for 89 days every summer, average 3 nights per city (never 1 night, rarely 2 nights, mostly 3 or longer). The trick for me is to stay someplace where there's not a lot to do once every two weeks, for a couple of nights. Maybe you can choose someplace in Switzerland for two nights about halfway through your trip. I wouldn't try doing nothing in, say, Paris on a first visit, but someplace in the mountains?

I think it helps to alternate "easy" days with "longer, more strenuous" days, and making sure you get enough sleep most nights. If it wasn't for caffeine I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up my own pace (although it's not a great habit for everyone, I would say caffeine and even ibuprofin/Advil can really help when you need it). Given you are in your 30s, you should be just fine provided you have comfortable shoes, clothing, and some band-aids to spare in case of blisters/sore feet (some parts of Europe are very hot and uncomfortable in August so try to stay away from those).

We are doing 28 days this trip.. usually do between 21 -30 day visits..

We usually do not get that tired.. because we avoid one or two night stays.. two nights is only one full day city.. we prefer a minimal of 2 full day.. so three night minimums unless just transiting.

I would not add more places but extend those 2 night stays into 3 night stays.

We are about 20 yrs older then you and don't get that tired.. as some have said.. if you schedule some down time inbetween shorter intense visits helps.

What tires us out on a 3 week trip to Europe is constantly changing hotels/cities. We've been to Lucerne and Mt. Pilatus and loved it because it was the only time we've been to Switzerland, but I question the need to visit 2 different locations in Switzerland. I would cut down on the number of cities- possibly increase the time in Norway since it may require more time to get there-increase time in Paris and Amsterdam and do some easy day trips from those cities. Also choose hotels carefully so they are conveniently located to public transportation or important sights.

I think there is no possibility for somebody who is in their thirties and healthy to get tired and worn out on the trip like you described. At that age we were crossing Transylvanians Alps in Romania on foot for three weeks. Not hut to hut (which was not there anyway) but carrying everything. In Romania at that time you could not buy anything so we had to carry everything and it was before dried food for backpackers so my backpack at the start was 70 pounds. Before we got used to it I must admit we were little tired at the end of day but I wouldn't say worn out. You don't have to worry, you will be OK.

My husband and I did an Italy trip in July, and we found the following "tips," some of which have already been mentioned, which helped us avoid fatigue:

1) Avoid one night stays

2) Alternate big citites with smaller cities (ie. busy places with a lot to see vs. slow places with less to see)

3) Get out early, site see, come back to our room for siesta, then go out again in the early evening

Have a great trip!

Every fourth or fifth day is empty - nothing planned. We use these unplanned days to recover - maybe sleep in - to do laundry, perhaps see something that we missed earlier, plan for the next couple of days, catch up on internet activity, or have a very leisurely meal at a nice restaurant. We tend to be slow travelers by nature and this makes us every slower but it works for us and we like it. We could not imagine having a 20 day trip with every day planned. Too tiring and stressful.

We've discovered that three weeks is about optimal for us -- by the fourth week we're getting tired and on each other's nerves and ready to go home. But we're much older than you and we've made several trips. And we usually do a lot of driving which can add to the strain (while providing offsetting benefits). My suggestions would be:

Skip Amsterdam. As someone else noted, it's a fine destination, worthy of more than two nights, but canals are about all it has in common with Venice. Put those nights in Norway instead.

Plan some down time every few days, wherever you are. Laundromats enforce a period of idleness, people-watching, experimenting with strange machines, maybe meeting kind locals who show you how to do it. Instant back-door experience. Once we sat in a nearby café, where we'd been eating breakfasts, and drank wine while the machines turned, then the proprietor replaced our glasses when they took longer than expected. Another time we watched a hilarious soap opera across the street, climaxed by the lady throwing the gentleman his pants as he stood on the sidewalk below -- we didn't get the back story. All this drama and fun, plus you get clean clothes!

On sightseeing days, start with your biggest target (Louvre or whatever) as soon as it opens. Group the secondary targets by proximity, for later in the day. Maybe the café-sit is a better use of time than the third museum of the day. Try to stay in centrally located hotels or apartments where you can return for a break without too much transit time.

Don't let the inevitable glitches get you down. There will be another train or flight. With proper precautions, your pickpocketing loss will be minimal and a good lesson. Getting lost will introduce you to local people. A bad meal was an experiment. I learned the meaning of "rognons" in Paris by ordering them thinking I'd get steak instead of kidneys; my French vocabulary is permanently improved.

And above all, try to spend at least 2-3 full days (3-4 nights) in each place. As others have said, the moving around is what wears you down -- and also costs more. "Assume you will return" is excellent advice. It's the right mindset to have, even if it isn't a realistic prediction. But at your age it may be quite realistic.

Have fun! If it isn't fun, might as well stay home. ;-)

I agree with what the others are saying. More time in fewer places leads to greater understanding of the culture and what you are seeing and to less stress.

I love Amsterdam. I've been there 3 times, the last one for a week. But it's not a substitute for Venice. It's totally different in just about every way possible. It's worth more than a couple of nights.

I'm not all that fond of Switzerland, but if it's a prime destination for you, go for it -- especially if you can see your way clear to spend all your time in one town or city. We did a driving trip for 2 weeks through the German, Austrian, Italian, Swiss and French parts of the Alps. I think all the Alps are lovely. Besides the drive, I loved flying over them from Florence to Stuttgart in a small plane. It was a clear day and it seemed like I could reach down and touch the peaks.

Norway is another unique place and seeing the fjords and Bergen is well worth the effort, but again, I'd spend a bit more time in the country. There aren't many other places where you can see Viking ships. But, it is an outlier, requiring a potential flight to Bergen or Oslo or into one and back from the other.

If I was going to add time anywhere, it would be in France. Why? The food, art, history and architecture, not to mention just hanging out and watching the world go by. The last time we were in Paris, we spent 8 nights and could have stayed longer. We did no day trips out of the city, but there are many that you can do. It was a very relaxing visit.

Now, having said all that, all these places are expensive. Beyond that, you would have to learn about and be working in Euros, Swiss francs and Norwegian krone. That's not necessarily a strain, but it is one more layer of complication to add to the trip. You don't say where you are from or what kind of passports you have, so that might also be something that complicates the trip.

I did my first trip to Europe when I was in my early 30's. It was a looooong time ago. There were border checkpoints for every country. There were different currencies for every country. I was traveling for 4 months solo. If I could do that in the late 70's, you surely can do 3 weeks now with all the technology to help with the planning and being there.

My trips from the past 7 years have ranged from 4 to 8 weeks. All those were with my husband. He's staying back in the US for the next one, so that means I can afford 6 weeks in the UK traveling solo. I turn 70 in less than 3 weeks. Here's another chorus -- if at twice your ages I can do 6 weeks alone in England and Scotland, you can do 3 weeks...

The planning is usually an iterative process where trade offs are made among the prime factors of money and time to suit what you want to see and do. You will be traveling when many Europeans also have vacation time. That means there will be more competition for lodging especially, but you have some time to plan. There are lots of resources online in addition to this travel forum and the rest of the Rick Steves website. We are all fortunate to have access to them to make our trips the best we can and have fun doing the planning.

I'll just agree with others that I don't really get travel fatigue. In Sept/Oct I had a 5.5 week trip clocking in 13,000 to 23,000 steps per day for the whole time. I did have 2 Rick Steves tours with independent days before, in between and after. Last year I did 8 weeks, and was not ready to come home! The key on that one, I think, was that I had 2 weeks in Paris in the middle, staying 1 week in 2 different hotels, so I could be a bit more relaxed. I'm old...I'm overweight...lol.

I also would not add a destination. If you are going to Amsterdam, add days there or add to Norway. I will also agree that it in no way resembles Venice, even with the canals. The more times you have to change cultures/languages the more that can increase your stress.

No need to get stressed out, worn out, overwrought in trip planning at your age and , besides , the duration is under a month. If you were planning a trip of 70 to 90 days, ie conforming to the Schengen time limit, then it might be stressful. First of all, take care of all the things at home, ie, bills, that sort of thing.

It is a lot easier, convenient traveling now than it was 30-45 years ago, as some of the differences are pointed out above. Traveling in my thirties once over the jet lag (I got it then but not now), I still had energy to waste. After a week I would not even think of getting tired unless you're not sleeping enough. You do learn in traveling is how to pace yourself. Planning is the key, otherwise you can wring it esp if you're not too particular as to where to stay and prices. In my thirties back in the 1980s you could still head to the HI hostel and expect to get a bed (no private independent hostels then)

I would suggest putting together a reserve plan in case you decide the present plan listed above is proving to be too much. Put together a plan without going to Norway or Switzerland. Going to Norway you can use the ferry option from Germany or fly.

Paris - 6 nights
Swiss - Lauterbrunnen(BO) - 4 nights
Swiss - Lucerne - 2 nights
Amsterdam - 2 nights
Norway in nutshell - 3 nights

Are you allowing enough time for both getting from place to place and enjoying it once you are there? A string of 2-3 night stays in a row can be tiring, and 2 nights gives you one full day of sightseeing and maybe a 1/2 day before or after. I haven't looked at the travel times, but my sense is that these are not nearby locations that a short (1-2 hour train ride) from each other. Be realistic. A 2-hour flight will use up the better part of a day when you add all the time from starting to pack in one hotel room to starting to unpack in the next one.

Amsterdam and Switzerland are in opposite directions from Paris. It is generally more efficient to travel with an open-jaw route, though you may be limited in your flight options with Switzerland and Norway as the outliers. My other recommendation is to allow 1 extra night in your first stop, since you'll be jetlagged and possibly sleep deprived on your first day.

Handling strain in a 3 week trip should not be difficult. I've travelled up to two months at a time, with no major issues of that type.

I've found that the key is to include some low activity intervals in your trip to "recharge your batteries". Take a day or two during the trip to sleep in, linger over breakfast, perhaps do some laundry and don't feel guilty that you're not out sightseeing to the point of exhaustion.

Of all the places on your list, Lauterbrunnen would be the best place for some "down time". There are no museums there so it's a great place to go for short hikes, stop for a relaxing coffee or beer and enjoy the incredible views or take a trip to the Schilthorn via cable car for a fine hot meal in the revolving restaurant or a "Martini-shaken-not-stirred" in the James Bond bar. If you're staying in Lauterbrunnen, you could also do a "loop" including a trip to Mürren (via the BLM route) > Gimmelwald > Stechelberg (possibly with a stop at Trummelbach Falls) and then back to Lauterbrunnen. Stop for a cool one at the Pension, Mountain Hostel or Hotel Mittaghorn in Gimmelwald and enjoy the incredible scenery.

If you pace yourself according to your tolerance, you should be able to manage "strain" quite well.

The main difference is that for a one-week trip you can go-go-go. For 3 weeks you may need some downtime. 4 locations in 3 weeks is fine. Just be sure to have some low-key days. No need to cut down - just schedule a good chunk of a couple days for relaxing. Maybe 1 day per week? That can be just calmly walking around a destination, reading in a park, whatever. Just not strenuous hiking or hardcore sightseeing, nothing scheduled on those days, no "goals".

My husband and I are 60 and have been traveling for 3 weeks at a time for some years now. Sure, we're pretty footsore at the end of the day (we're devoted walkers) but that's the reward for having seen and experienced all sorts of interesting things.

I would agree with the others who advise longer versus shorter stays in one place, though. If we were packing up and moving every couple of days, I WOULD be pooped! Personally, I try not to book us anywhere for less than 3 nights, and prefer a week for larger cities. That allows some flexibility to work around weather and attraction closures, and time to wander without an agenda. Or just to sit for awhile and watch the world go by. :O)

Instead of adding another location, you might just add days to the shorter stays on your itinerary?

So, praveen, have we convinced you? What do you think of all the comments?

Thanks folks for your advice.
Some key points noted
- take at least one day off per week.
- Lesser places. I might have to remove Lucerne and distribute those days to Lauterbrunnen and Amsterdam.
- Schedule such that you have one busy day and one less busy day.
- Alternate between city and country side.

I will be booking flight tickets in Feb end. Dont know what more changes we will be making by then :)

One other tip - Make sure you have very comfortable shoes.

Maybe start in Norway to make use of the long daylight hours ...

Fly in to Oslo
Oslo - 2 nights
Norway in nutshell (day tour??) http://www.norwaynutshell.com/en/explore-the-fjords/norway-in-a-nutshell/
Bergen - 2 nights
Fly to Amsterdam - 3 nights
Train to Paris - 7 nights
Train to Lausanne - 2 nights
Train to Lauterbrunnen (BO) - 3 nights
Train to Lucerne - 2 nights
Fly home from Zurich

Use your travel days (Amsterdam to Paris / Paris to Lausanne) as rest days.

djp_syd - Thanks for the plan. In fact this is good logical path, however problem I have is flight into Oslo and fly out of Zurich is costly. If I fly into Paris and fly out of Amsterdam cost will be cheaper. So I was thinking of Paris ->train->Lauterbrunnen->train->Lucerne->train->zurich->flight->Oslo(norway in nutshell)->flight->Amsterdam.
What you guys think? Lausanne is good suggestion - I will start digging into it. Bergen - I dont know - if I should consider it.

Similar routing, just different start and end points, making for 2 internal European flights instead of one. Something for you to weight up.

My experience,

I went to my first trip to Europe in 2014. My stats were:

Slept in 12 different locations in 32 nights. That included a 7 nights stay in the last week with my sister who lives in Madrid. I was so strenous by that time, that I just hung around with my family, stayed at home a lot, and did short trips to Madrid (didn't have the energy to go to Toledo, as I planned).

If I take out the last 7 nights, I slept in 11 different locations in 25 nights. That is aprox. 2.2 nights per location. That included:
4 nights stays: 1
3 nights stays: 2
2 nights stays: 6
1 night stays: 2

Countries visited: 7 (includes Spain)

After I returned I made my personal feedback, and altought the trip was great, I wanted to slow down a bit to make my next trip even more enjoyable.

So, my goals for this year's trip are:
- Increase the average nights per location from 2 to 3
- Stretch my time plan in each location, sightseeing what I planned in the last year for two days to three days. That leaves me time for:
- Include a siesta time in the noon, afternoon or late afternoon (sometimes just being in my room for 1-3 hours does the trick to me)
- Take trains and other transportation at noon or later. Never in the morning. That leaves me time to rest and take advantage until the last hour available of the check out time at each accomodation.
- Do not make a fixed plan or sightseeing itinerary on travelling days. That means flexible time, so, If I arrived tired, I can rest. If I am in a good mood, I go out to sightsee. But specially I leave free time in those days to settle when I arrive, to buy groceries, do laundry or just walk around with no schedule.

So, my itinerary for my next 37 night trips are:

11 different locations in 37 nights. Average days per location 3.2. That includes two different two-night stays at my sister's in Madrid in the beginning and at the end of the trip, so, those days are just relaxing days with the family. If I take out those days in Madrid I am just staying in 9 locations for 33 nights. 3.6 days per location.

If I take in account both Madrid stays as two different two-nights stops (as ther are) I will have:

5 nights stays: 2
4 nights stays: 3
3 nights stays: 2
2 nights stays: 4 (includes 2 relaxed stays in Madrid)
1 night stays: 0

Countries to visit: 4 (includes Spain)

I hope my new plan will work better. And I guess it will. Feedbacks only after June ;)

I hope this will help to your plan. Happy travels!

PS: Sorry about my English grammar, as I am not an English native speaker

I think it really helps to interpose locations that call for heavy-duty sightseeing/museum-going with locations in which wandering around outdoors enjoying nature is more the thing. It looks like your itinerary is already along those lines - you'll be fine!